Italian popular leader who tried to restore the greatness of ancient
Rome. He later became the subject of literature and song, including a novel
by the English novelist E.G.E. Bulwer-Lytton (1835) and an opera by Richard
Wagner (1842), both entitled Rienzi.

He was the son of a Roman tavern keeper named Lorenzo Gabrini. His father's
Christian name was shortened to Rienzo, and his own name, Nicola, to Cola;
hence the Cola di Rienzo by which he is generally known. Young Cola left
Rome after his mother's death c. 1323 to live with an uncle at nearby
Anagni. He returned to Rome as a student at the age of 20, and in 1343
he was sent by the city's government to Pope Clement VI in Avignon to plead
the case of the Roman popular party, which had just gained ascendancy.
The Pope appointed him notary of the Roman civic treasury, and Cola returned
to Rome in 1344. He began to plot a revolution that would return the city
to the glory of ancient Rome. On May 20, 1347, he summoned the people to
a parliament on the Capitoline Hill. There he announced a series of edicts
against the nobles, and to the acclaim of the multitude he assumed dictatorial
powers. A few days later he took the ancient title of tribune.

After declaring reforms of the tax, judicial, and political structure
of Rome, Cola conceived the grandiose idea of reestablishing Rome as the
capital of a "sacred Italy," an Italian brotherhood whose mission would
be to spread peace and justice to the world. At a conclave held on Aug.
1, 1347, he conferred Roman citizenship on all the cities of Italy and
proceeded to prepare for the election of a Roman emperor of Italy the following
year.

The Roman nobles, led by the Orsini and Colonna families, rose against
Cola, who repelled their attack on Nov. 20, 1347. But his triumph was short-lived;
the populace became disaffected, the aristocrats continued to organize
against him, and the Pope issued a bull denouncing him as a criminal, a
pagan, and a heretic. A fresh uprising forced his resignation on Dec. 15,
1347, but he took refuge for two years among hermits in the Maiella Mountains
of the Abruzzi region.

In 1350 Cola went to Prague, where he attempted to enlist the aid of
Emperor Charles IV with mystical prophecies. Charles, however, handed him
over to the Archbishop of Prague, who yielded him to Pope Clement in July
1352. After being absolved of heresy by the Inquisition, he was freed and
sent to Italy by the new pope, Innocent VI, to aid Cardinal Gil Albornoz
in restoring papal authority to Rome. With the new title of senator, Cola
made a triumphal return to Rome on Aug. 1, 1354.

His reinstatement was brief. Harassed by the Colonna family and driven
by lack of money to desperate straits, he ruled arbitrarily. On Oct. 8,
1354, a riot broke out, and, when he attempted to address the mob, he was
met with a shower of missiles. Disguising himself, he tried to mingle with
the crowd but was seized and killed.